MICHAEL GRUBER

 

Michael Gruber has a unique goal. He wants to revolutionize Halloween and turn it from a holiday filled with ghosts and goblins to one filled with Brogs, small mythical creatures that are half bear and half frog.

 

“I want to put a positive spin on the holiday like no one else has ever done,” says Gruber, who is general manager of the Sterling Autobody Center in Harper Woods, Michigan.

 

Michael Gruber’s first book, “The Legend of the Brog” tells their delightful story. They are wise and kindly little beasts with a taste for Halloween pumpkin seeds and a keen eye for human folly. Gruber explains that the tradition of carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating on Halloween was started because of the elusive and mysterious Brog. When the Brogs visit people’s homes at night, they provide them with sage advice, and  good luck in their lives. They are also able to show people the result of their negative actions.

 

“After Christmas, Halloween is the second most celebrated holiday,” Gruber said, “Some of it is fun, but much of it has become surrounded with gloom, doom and evil.”

 

Gruber believes in good, old-fashioned, family-oriented story telling, and claims the Brog tale will cast Halloween in a bright new light, one that kids will enjoy while learning some important life lessons.

 

Besides the book, Gruber has also commissioned Brog dolls and has done all he can to make both products of the highest quality possible.

 

He hired a nationally known book artist, Linda Graves, to paint the book’s beautiful watercolor illustrations. “She’s amazing,” Gruber said, “When I got all the paintings at one time rather than a page at a time, I was blown away.”  The story and illustrations make a perfect blend.

 

Gruber has even grander plans for his creation. The story is actually based on one scene in a screenplay he has been working on called “A Halloween Tale.” He wants to bring the Brog story to movie screens across America. “I see it becoming a fresh, family movie.”   

 

The inquiring minds  of Michael and Christine Gruber’s daughters, Tabbatha, 11, Isabella, 3, and Jillian, 8 months, were the inspiration behind the Brogs. In fact, daughter, Tabbatha gives her personal opinion of dad’s work, “The Brog is a cute little creature, and I think it’s cool that my dad has written a book about it. I can’t wait to see the movie.”

 

To order a copy of “The Legend of the Brog,” send $9.95 plus $3.00 P&H to Gruber Enterprises, 21521 Finlan Street, St Clair Shores, MI 48080. Wholesale discounts are available. You can also order and get more information on the web at these two sites: http://www.thelegendofthebrog.com  Start a new tradition this Halloween for yourself and your family with the wonderful, fun-filled Brogs!